16.4.10

ROYAL TRAINS ON EXHIBITION IN THE NETHERLANDS

DOORS WITH GILDED HANDLES LEADING TO AN ART NOUVEAU LOUNGE, LOUIS XV STYLE FURNITURE AND A 148 YEAR OLD LOCOMOTIVE ARE REMNANTS OF SOME OF THE WORLD'S OLDEST AND MOST STUNNING ROYAL TRAINS WHICH ARE ON DISPLAY IN THE DUTCH CITY OF UTRECHT. FROM BRITAIN, IRELAND, SWEDEN, DENMARK, BELGIUM, THE CZECH REPUBLIC AND PORTUGAL. ALL THE HISTORIC TRAINS HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TOGETHER FOR A FIRST-EVER EXHIBITION OF ITS KIND, IN THE DUTCH RAILWAY MUSEUM. ENTITLED ROYAL CLASS, REGAL JOURNEY, THE EXHIBITION WAS OFFICIALLY OPENED RECENTLY BY THE DUTCH MONARCH, QUEEN BEATRIX, WHO ARRIVED FOR THE OCCASION IN HER OWN PRIVATE TRAIN FROM THE HAGUE. HOSTED IN A COLONIAL-ERA STATION, THE EXHIBITION STARTS WITH THE DUTCH ROYAL FAMILY'S 19th CENTURY WAITING ROOM AT THE HAGUE CENTRAL STATION, RESTORED IN UTRECHT WITH ALL ITS WOOD PANELING AND A FIREPLACE DECORATED WITH TILES MADE FROM THE NETHERLANDS' FAMOUS BLUE AND WHITE GLAZED DELFT POTTERY. A GREEN TRAIN CONSTRUCTED IN 1862 FOR THE PORTUGUESE QUEEN MARIA PIA IS THE ONLY TRAIN ON SHOW THAT IS COMPLETE. A GIFT FROM HER FATHER, ITALIAN KING VICTOR EMMANUEL II, THE TRAIN COMPRISES THE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE AND ITS TENDER, THE QUEEN'S CARRIAGE AND ANOTHER WAGON. THE QUEEN'S COACH, LAVISHLY UPHOLSTERED IN GOLD AND RED VELVET AND CREAM COLOURED SILK BROCADE, HAS A SLEEPING COMPARTMENT WITH A PORCELAIN TOILET AND A SEPARATE COMPARTMENT FOR HER ATTENDANTS. THE SMALLEST WAGON IN THE EXHIBIT, ALL OF 6.4 METERS LONG, IS ALSO 'THE OLDEST PRESERVED ROYAL WAGON IN THE WORLD', ACCORDING TO THE MUSEUM'S CURATOR. CONSTRUCTED IN 1842 FOR THE EXCURSIONS OF THE ENGLISH QUEEN ADELAIDE, IT RESEMBLES AN OLD-FASHIONED STAGE COACH AND INCLUDED AN INNOVATIVE FEATURE: A FOLDAWAY BED. THE SALOON COACH BUILT IN 1910 FOR AUSTRIAN ARCHDUKE FRANZ FERDINAND HAS MORE MODERN ACCESSORIES, ELECTRIC LIGHTING AND A STEAM HEAT WARMING SYSTEM, A SEPARATE TOILET COMPARTMENT AND A BEDROOM WITH TWO BEDS. IT WAS ON BOARD THIS WAGON THAT THE HEIR TO THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN THRONE TRAVELED TO SARAJEVO IN JUNE 1914, WHERE HE WAS ASSASSINATED IN AN ACT THAT PROVOKED WORLD WAR I. GETTING THE WAGONS TO THE HAGUE REQUIRED 'MASSIVE LOGISTICS', SAID THE MUSEUM SPOKESMAN. 'SOME CAME VIA RAILROAD', HE SAID, 'INCLUDING THE LOUNGE AND RESTAURANT WAGON OF BELGIAN KING ALBERT, DATING FROM 1912.' IN THE KING'S DINING ROOM CART, FURNISHED IN THE STYLE OF LOUIS XV WITH CREAM-COLOURED WOOD PANELING, A DINING TABLE SET FOR TEN PEOPLE COMPLETE WITH SILVERWARE, PLATES AND GLASSES. THE EXHIBITION IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC UNTIL 5.SEPTEMBER.

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